The Rainier Apartments in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood have earned the prestigious 5-Star Built Green certification from the Master Builders Association of King County. Completed this past summer, the project features 54 units, including live-work units and commercial space, in a four-story, wood-framed structure. Building on the restrictively tight site required creativity and adaptability from the Clark team. The project was designed by JT Architecture for Dwell Development.

The Pleasant Beach Village Lodge is coming together beautifully. With an anticipated completion in late April, the lodge is ahead of schedule and currently in the finishes phase: trim, tile, and wood floors are going in. Crafted by Clark Construction to match the historical charm of the Lynwood Center neighborhood. This addition brings 10 new guest rooms in a 2-story, 6,800 sf. lodge to Pleasant Beach Village on Bainbridge Island.

Energy independence is a key goal of the Living Building Challenge – projects must generate 105 percent of their own power using renewable sources, and provide onsite storage for system resiliency. It’s called net-positive energy, and it’s a very high bar to reach.

The Loom House on Bainbridge Island is up to the challenge.

The distinctive midcentury-modern home – the first residential remodel set to achieve Living Building certification – will boast an expansive solar array plus cutting-edge battery backup.

A team from Cascadia Solar of Port Townsend was onsite this week, installing a powerful 15kW system against the backdrop of Puget Sound and the distant Seattle skyline.

To optimize solar harvest, project architects Miller Hull and Clark Construction shifted the home’s skylights to the north slope of the roof, leaving the expansive south slope totally open for solar.

The 42 powerful, 365-watt modules will enjoy generous solar exposure from daybreak through the afternoon. An onsite 13kWh, two-battery backup will capture excess production and keep the home humming if the local grid goes down during storms.

Couple the solar component with an ultra-tight building envelope, and you have a formula for comfortable, sustainable living: produce more energy, and use less.

Find out more about the Loom House’s many energy-efficient features here.

Quality student housing is always in demand around the University of Washington, and Clark Construction, LLC is helping the developer to meet the need. The new 4710 Flats will bring 52 snug, comfortable apartment units to the U-District near campus, just a short walk to the University Village shopping area and other services. Apartment units range from 250-300 sf., over four floors with a rooftop deck, a great new addition to the neighborhood’s student housing stock. Availability is set for mid-2019.

What an amazing year 2018 has been for Clark Construction LLC! In this season of reflection and gratitude, we offer our thanks to all who have contributed to our achievements and success.

We’ve had so many showcase projects going on across the region, it’s hard to cite just a few. Certainly the Loom House on Bainbridge Island is proof-of-concept for applying rigorous Living Building Challenge standards to the restoration of older buildings. Other projects like the Pleasant Beach Village expansion and Manzanita Bay Home have been prominently featured in media, while Clark itself was profiled by our financing partner, Liberty Bay Bank, in their corporate promotions.

We’ve been proud to lend our support to many community causes, among them Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Seattle Children’s Hospital, IslandWood, affordable housing (through our local Housing Resources Board) and popular community festivals like Taste of Lynwood. We’re committed to connection in all that we do.

Highlight of the year has certainly been the dedication of our beautiful and environmentally forward-thinking new offices on Bainbridge in Winslow town center. A top-to-bottom commercial restoration, our new home is a marquee for the latest eco-conscious building materials and techniques. Thank you to all who came to our September open house, and if you’ve not yet paid us a visit, please come by soon!

As the year winds to a close, we are profoundly grateful to our many clients and sub-contractors in all sectors – multi-family, residential, new construction and remodels – for putting your trust in our Clark Construction team.

We’re building something amazing, with you, for you.

Happy Thanksgiving from the entire team over here at Clark Construction.

Clark recently completed the Rainier Apartments in Columbia City. Featuring 54 units, including live-work and commercial space, in a four-story, wood-framed structure. This restrictively tight site required creativity & adaptability from the Clark team throughout its construction. Photos by Kelvin Hughes.

This custom residence is located on a waterfront infill site in Kingston, WA. The building is situated to meet flood, view blockage, and shoreline setback requirements. The exterior features an open-siding rainscreen system, with pre-finished tongue and groove tight knot cedar siding and viroc cement panels. Cantilevered concrete slabs and ipe decking provide ample outdoor living space. A rooftop garden and second floor ipe deck built on an aluminum subframe with a glass railing system add additional space for enjoying shoreline views. A slab floor with built-in radiant heat tops the wood-framed flooring system. Photos courtesy of Architect: Studio Zerbey

When Clark Construction began renovating the Loom house on Bainbridge Island – bringing an older home up to the rigorous standards of the Living Building Challenge – we had to demonstrate exceptional concern for the environment.

That care extended to the landscape , where a beautiful Chinese dogwood (Cornus kousa) was growing in the footprint of where the new carport is being built.

“It is a beautiful specimen,” landscape architect Anne James said, “and given the LBC mantra of no waste/re-use, I suggested it remain on the site, and we move it to a new location where it could be enjoyed by everyone crossing the new bridge to the entry.”

Moving the tree was a precise and painstaking process, beginning with timing – the tree had to be moved during the winter dormant period, and was transplanted in February 2018.

The soil at the outer perimeter of the root zone was excavated with an air spade to reduce the weight of the root ball to be lifted, an estimated 5,500-6,000 pounds.

The air spade removes soil with compressed air, blowing the soilaway and leaving the roots intact and undamaged. About two feet of soil was removed around the perimeter, leaving a root ball about eight feet across, with a couple more feet of roots dangling in mid-air beyond all the way around.

These exposed roots were painted with a hydrogel to keep them from drying out until the root ball was hand dug and wrapped in burlap, and the tree moved a couple of days later.

A large, extended-reach forklift was used to transport the tree to the lower driveway, where it could be maneuvered into place.

We are very excited to announce the big move to our new, permanent offices at 355 Ericksen Ave, here on Bainbridge Island! At Clark Construction we are committed to efficient, sustainable building practices, and that starts with our own building. We invite you to stop by anytime between 3 and 7pm this Friday, October 12th. Parking is limited, so we suggest parking at Bainbridge Performing Arts, and walking up. We look forward to welcoming you to our new home! View the official invite here.

Clark Construction is a sponsor of Housing Resources Bainbridge and encourages you to attend their annual breakfast, Oct. 18. This great fundraiser for affordable housing on Bainbridge Island runs 7:30-9 a.m. at Wing Point Golf and Country Club. Bainbridge has historically been home to people of all income levels and backgrounds. This year's breakfast highlights the stories of island natives, a business owner with Bainbridge family ties, and other remarkable people from around the community. Funds raised from the event support island housing programs, maintaining HRB's affordable rental units, and making more units available in the future.

You value your trees, and so do we. Clark Construction goes out of our way to protect existing trees, vegetation and landscaping on every job site, from remodels to new construction. One of our strategies: cladding your trees in 2x4s throughout the construction cycle, to prevent accidental bumps and bruises from equipment. See this care in action at Bainbridge Island’s Loom house, a Living Building Challenge remodel, where the grounds are heavily treed with both native firs and ornamentals.

Often you’ll see people protect trees with plywood boxes, but we did something smarter – and much truer to the spirit of LBC. We salvaged framing and deck material during demolition, and repurposed the pieces that weren’t in the best condition for reuse to protect these beautiful established trees.

When we leave your site at the end of the project, your trees won’t know we were even there. We make our mark by not leaving any.

We are proud sponsors of this year’s Taste of Lynwood Block Party! Come say hi at out booth on Saturday, Sept 15th. There will be live music, tasty food and delicious beer, as well as fun for the whole family! More info: https://tasteoflynwood.org/

We are honored to be showcased on the Liberty Bay Bank website. LBB understands construction and the unique finance needs for the industry, which is not common with banks. You can build a relationship with people at Liberty Bay Bank – it is not just a revolving door. LBB is flexible and willing to work with us to understand our financing requirements. Learn more about this fantastic bank here.

Clark Construction is committed to efficient, sustainable building technologies and techniques – and that starts with our own building.

Our new offices at 355 Ericksen Avenue boast leading-edge efficiency features including: • a state-of-the-art envelope with outboard rigid insulation for walls and roof• a snug air-barrier membrane with all penetrations taped and sealed • operable windows with radiant heat panels in every office • a 6.3kW rooftop solar array for smart, renewable power

Clark can bring these same energy-saving features to residential and commercial projects of all sizes. But come and see them for yourself – we’re all moved in, even as we add a few finishing touches to the building and grounds. Watch for our big Open House announcement this fall.

Our Clark Construction team is a tightknit squad on the jobsite and off. When not building excellent new homes and commercial spaces this summer, we enjoyed great team-building events like deep-sea fishing and our big company BBQ. We even threw the pigskin around with Seahawks star QB Russell Wilson! Look like fun? We’re always on the lookout for new team members; see our careers page about opportunities with fast-growing Clark, and tell us what you can bring to the team.

The Bainbridge Island Review discusses the new Pleasant Beach Village Lodge addition. Read the full story here.

This addition brings 10 new guest rooms in a 2-story, 6,800 sf. lodge to Pleasant Beach Village on Bainbridge Island. Crafted by Clark Construction to match the old-world charm of the historic Lynwood Center neighborhood, the building will offer 500 sf. rooms with spacious layouts and luxury appointments. Inn at Pleasant Beach guests can enjoy a seasonal 25-yard outdoor pool, hot tub and a fitness center, along with four restaurants, a pool clubhouse, retail shops and services, and residential living. Completion is scheduled for spring 2019.

This "tiny planet" view shows off some of the beautiful landscaping at the Loom House on Bainbridge Island. In line with the Living Building Challenge, all new plantings, including native and low-water use species, will complement the existing mature evergreens, Japanese maples, rhododendrons and groundcover.

The Walk on Bainbridge is a 38-unit multifamily residential townhome development in the urban center on Bainbridge Island. Clark is building these homes to the highest standards of sustainability using eco-friendly and healthy materials. Extensive solar will power the units. The townhome layout creates a true neighborhood with community gardens and active shared amenities. With a variety of sizes and configurations, these well-designed townhomes will provide much needed housing just steps away from Winslow.